30 weeks!

Alright. Here I am at 30 weeks pregnant with our son looking at the remaining 1/4 of pregnancy... and getting very anxious. I feel as if there is still so much to do before we welcome his arrival and that somehow 10 weeks is just not going to be enough time. On the other hand... 10 weeks is a long time to go! How can the same time frame seem so far away and so near all at the same time?

Pregnancy wise, things are going well. I'm still feeling relatively well and hey, I can still bend over and pick things up off of the floor. I consider that a win. I haven't seen any new stretch marks (knock on wood), my weight gain is about 23 lbs, my belly button is an outie now, I'm still craving the sweets, and I miss the days of the cute kicks my baby used to give me. I am now getting the painful my-baby-is-over-3-lbs-and-wants-to-move-around-in-a-tiny-space movements that can really downright hurt sometimes. However, don't get me wrong. I will take those painful movements 100 times over not being able to feel him move. It's a reassurance thing that tells me my little man is doing alright and growing like he should. So bring on the pain? Pregnancy IS weird.

Also, my first baby shower is this Saturday! I can't even begin to describe how excited I am to see what we will be getting for our little man. I told Mitch that we will definitely be spending Sunday in the nursery to go through all of the gifts and put them where they belong. We are so blessed to have such loving family and friends... our son is going to be completely taken care of and that fills me with so much joy that I can't even begin to describe.

Countdown: 10 weeks, or 70 days, left until our due date!

Announcement: I have a GLIDER!

Alright, so back in June when my grandpa (Da-Da) had his health scare and we all rushed down to Tennessee, I discovered a new item of furniture at his house. A glider. Now, I had wanted a glider for the nursery before this point, but holy buckets did this seal the deal. I was absolutely in love and heaven help anyone that sat in my glider while I was at Da-Da's house in Tennessee. (My cousin Katie has a story about this...).

Fast forward to yesterday. Yesterday my mom called me wanting the garage door code because she had to drop off a delivery. A BIG box of a delivery.

My wonderful, loving... and very astute Da-Da and mother got me a glider for the nursery. How wonderful is that? Mitch put it together for me last night and I am currently gliding away in the glider as I write this. To say that I love it would be an understatement.

So, in honor of my newly acquired glider... I present a picture of the nursery thus far. The walls are painted (moonlit yellow), the carpet has been steamcleaned, and we have a dresser and a glider at the moment. And of course Brady, the dog, who looks a bit less than thrilled that mom made him sit there for the picture. The nursery is definitely starting to come together... and I couldn't be more thrilled.

28 week Dr. appointment, a wedding, and a baby bump picture.

Today's baby bump picture was actually taken in the nursery! The walls are painted and the carpet has been cleaned and we are ready to start putting things in his room. Right now we only have a dresser, but in just under 2 weeks, I have a feeling we will have a few more items to put in there. It's hard to believe there is less than 2 weeks until my first baby shower! It is nice to be able to take the baby bump picture in his nursery though... it is quickly becoming one of my favorite rooms in the house. There is just something about going in there and imagining him being there in the near future that is so relaxing and peaceful.

Last Thursday we had our 28 week appointment... which included the infamous glucose test for gestational diabetes. Honestly, the drink wasn't bad at all. It tasted like orange syrup and was very easy to drink. I got a little jittery afterwards and then started to feel a bit nauseous, but nothing too bad. It was the crash that followed that was so hard for me. It took all I had to make it through the rest of the day (I worked until 9pm because of the appointment being in the morning). I haven't heard anything about the glucose test, so I'm assuming no news is good news and that I do not have gestational diabetes. Therefore, I've been continuing to feed that uncontrollable sweet tooth that appeared out of nowhere... and crossing my fingers that it doesn't come around to haunt me in the way of stretch marks and out-of-control weight gain.

Which, speaking of stretch marks, I cried the other day. At 27 weeks, I found my first stretch marks... and they are on the back of my right thigh. Yes, I know that they are a "badge of honor" and all of that, but I really had hoped to skate through pregnancy without any. So, now I am hoping that the worst is over and that I'm done with getting stretch marks.

Back to the 28 week doctor appointment. He is measuring on track and his heartbeat was at 133 beats per minute (he was resting at the time) and it sounded really good. I also got my RhoGAM shot on Thursday due to me being RH negative as well as an ID card I got to put in my wallet. Our next appointment will be on September 10 at 32 weeks and then I will be seen every other week.

In other news, my youngest brother, Andrew, got married this past weekend (Aug. 14) to Aimee. We have another Bridge in the family now... and I wish them only the very best. It was a beautiful wedding ceremony and they both looked so happy. It is so weird for me to think that my baby brother has a wife and a daughter, as well as three stepsons. I wish I had some pictures, but of course I forgot to bring my camera so I am going to have to rely on my mom and dad for pictures. I will say that while in the 7th month of pregnancy... dancing the night away is not the best idea. While it was a blast being out there dancing with Mitch, my dad, my cousin Katie, etc., I sure felt it by the end of the night... and the next day.

I don't know if I have mentioned this as of yet, but Mitch and I are pretty settled on a name at this point for our little man. We call him by his name at home or when it is just us and it really makes me feel closer to our son. The only downfall is that we sometimes catch ourselves about to say his name when talking about him to others! I will say that the parents really have been understanding in our want to keep the name to ourselves which is wonderful. I have also noticed that since reaching the 3rd trimester, my fatigue has skyrocketed. It seems that all I want to do now is sleep!

Countdown? We're down to 10 weeks, 3 days.

A mini Mitch? I think so!

Let me just start by saying that I am so glad we decided to do the 4D ultrasound. I really feel (and Mitch agrees with me) that we would have regretted not doing this after it was all said and done. It was a wonderful experience for not only us, but for all of his grandparents as well. Mitch's parents as well as mine all were there with us and what a great time!

It was really fun to get to know his positioning and what I'm feeling when he moves. He sure does like to move and he continued to show us that side of him. We also discovered that my placenta is on the right hand side of my body, which is where he loves to hang out. He cuddles on up next to the placenta right next to the main blood supply that has my pulse with it. He still loves to have his hands right next to his face and it looks as though we will probably have a thumb sucker on our hands. I guess that makes sense as I was a thumb sucker until I was about 8 years old!

We also caught him mid-yawn and oh boy was that a big yawn. He stretched his whole body for that yawn and we got pictures of both the yawn and the stretch. The ultrasound also made me certain of one thing... our little boy is going to look just like his dad. I can hardly wait! He was just so precious to watch on that huge screen and I can't help but love looking at those pictures we have over and over and over again.

With the ultrasound we were treated to about an hour of viewing pleasure and we were given a DVD of the whole ultrasound as well as a CD with 35 high-resolution photos. We also got a goodies bag that has a couple of useful things in it (such as a bottle cooler with re-usable ice packs).

All in all, I couldn't be happier and I know that Mitch feels the same way. All of the soon-to-be grandparents loved the experience also and that means the world to me. This little man of ours is already loved by so many people... and he just looks so precious. Seeing him today makes me anxious to meet him in 12 weeks give or take.

Why, hello 3rd trimester.

It's official. I am now in the third trimester and we are down to only 13 weeks left until my estimated due date of November 4th.

Not to mention only 2 more days until our 3D/4D ultrasound where we will get to see our little man again... and the grandparents-to-be will get to tag along. I know I am excited and it sounds like everyone else is also.

As far as the pregnancy goes... I really can't complain. I can tell that he is getting bigger and stronger as his movements, kicks, and stretches have become more and more forceful with each passing day. There are times where he honestly takes my breath away! Mitch and I both love to feel and watch him move around in there (even when he does decide to be difficult and move for mom, but not for dad). I have some aches and pains... and it is hard to get comfortable at night, but overall it hasn't been bad. What has been bad is my ever growing sweet tooth. I honestly can't get enough chocolate now and somehow I really don't think that is what our little man needs (or what his mom's thighs need). Hopefully this particular sweet tooth phase will disappear soon!

The status of the nursery is well... slowly, but surely getting there? We have the room emptied out and tonight we went out and bought the paint. We went with "moonlit yellow" and I'm very optimistic with how it is going to turn out. Mitch, Aimee, and Darwin are going to be the painting crew this Sunday and I am looking forward to being able to check another item off of our checklist.

Tomorrow I need to really get on top of daycare interviews/tours. Time is starting to feel a bit tight!